West Brom & Sheffield United Doomed According To Bookies

West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United are two teams with an undesired common bond; they are both considered shoo-ins for relegation from the Premier League this season.  Sheffield United has a paltry 11 points to date, an astonishing 39 points behind the leaders Manchester City, and West Brom have managed just one point more.  

Although both teams must be hoping that Fulham – with 15 points also in a parlous situation – slide even further and faster than them,  the bookies are sure the Baggies and the Blades are heading down to the Championship.  Bookmaker BoyleSports offers odds of 1/20 that West Brom will be relegated at the end of the 2020/21 season, with the odds of Sheffield little better at 1/11 from SBK.  Fulham are third favourites for relegation, with odds of 6/17 also from SBK.

Sam Allardyce was appointed manager of West Brom only a couple of months ago but has failed so far to halt the disastrous spate of results.  The Baggies are struggling at both ends of the pitch but the defensive frailties are glaring with 15 goals conceded in the past six matches.  Already Big Sam is favourite with the bookmakers to be the next manager sacked in the Premier League, with odds of 10/3 from bookie William Hill, but a replacement manager would be unlikely to halt the decline and avoid relegation.  

Sheffield United beat West Brom 2-1 last Tuesday but the team is nonetheless struggling to get out of the relegation zone that the two sides share.  Fans fear the Blades will drop back into the Championship after only two seasons in the Premier League.  Manager Chris Wilder acknowledges the vast challenge ahead and says “The best thing that could happen is we come out of this season having defied incredible odds.  That’s my message to the players and they have to take that on board.”  

Football pundit Roy Keane ranks Sheffield United’s chances of staying in the Premier League as exceedingly low.  He says “Chris Wilder has done a brilliant job over the last few years but if he gets them out of this mess they’re in, we’ll add him to the list of ‘genius’ managers.  The lack of quality, the lack of creativity, the lack of goals. It’s a big ask. They basically need Champions League form to get out of it and it’s a tough ask”.